


In Her Debt

by Laura_Raptor



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Marriage Proposal, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:28:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3236243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_Raptor/pseuds/Laura_Raptor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A follow-up to "Just Say the Word," this is a steamy short that an accidental marriage proposal, the Inquisitor stuck in an all too tight gown, and Cullen taking some very interesting advice from Sera to try to impress his lover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Her Debt

She hadn’t been alone when she went to her chambers, but when she awoke in the morning, there was no one there but Josephine.

“Good morning, your worship,” her advisor and trusted friend greeted her as she threw open the doors of her room. “We have a big day ahead of us, if you are to be ready to greet our guests.”

“How long do I have?” the Inquisitor asked as she pulled the covers back over her head.

“A few hours until they arrive,” Josephine said as she forcefully pulled back the covers. “But we must get started on you immediately.”

Josephine could be a slave driver when she wanted to be. With a firm hand, she forced the Inquisitor into an Orlesian gown that featured the crest of the Inquisition across the flowing skirt. It took some fighting, but at least she managed to convince Josephine that the high, stiff collar of the dress might be a little overboard, but the rest she was stuck with.

She also managed to get out of wearing the mask that was customary among their coming guests. It was assumed that most would like to see the face of the Inquisitor, and instead, Josephine brought out a small case that contained stains and rouges to bring out some of the Inquisitor’s features.

“Just go gentle with that stuff,” she told Josephine as she was forced to sit and wait to see what her advisor created with her own face. Makeup, dresses, it had never been her forte and she was already finding it hard to be comfortable in the lightly laced dressed.

“Almost done,” Josephine assured her as she worked. “And we should have just a bit more time before our guests arrive. We need to you greet them while looking your best.”

The Inquisitor had assumed that her best was a show of strength. Not that she wished to threaten members of Orlesian nobility, but she wanted them to know their trust was placed in strong, competent hands.

Unfortunately, she’d been outvoted while discussing the matter with her advisors. The people of Orlais had their own way of showing strength and for her to succeed, she needed to prove to them she was willing to play their game.

Even Cullen, who had no patience for the political games that Josephine loved so dearly, had agreed that she should dress the part. It wasn’t until she was nearly asleep, safe in his arms, that he admitted that there was a part of him that only wanted to see her dressed up.

“You are ready,” Josephine said as she took a step back from the Inquisitor. “At least, you appear ready.”  
“That will have to do,” she said as she stood.

There was a large mirror on her wall and the Inquisitor went to see just what Josephine had done to her. She expected garish and overdone, but when she saw herself for the first time, she couldn’t help but find herself without words. 

“Well,” Josephine began. “What do you think?”

It took her a moment to decide just what to say, and longer to get her mouth working again. Finally, in a soft whisper, she found herself saying, “I look quite pretty.”

Josephine laughed at that. “Why yes, I’d say you do. Now come, we can’t have our guests arriving without you there to greet them.”

In the shoes Josephine had insisted she wear, the Inquisitor had to watch every step as she descended the stairs from her chambers. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was to fall down the steps as she made her way into the great hall.

“Allow me,” Josephine said as she opened the door for her.

Outside the door of her chamber several of her closest friends stood mulling about and waiting for her. Josephine had been harsh in ensuring that only the members of the Inquisition that were versed in the game would be at the head table of the feast they were presenting to their guests, but for now, all her closest friends were in attendance.

But there was only one person she truly wanted to see.  
While Sera shoved her way to the front to laugh at the dress Josephine had made her wear, and Iron Bull found himself chuckling with her, most of the words she received were kind and encouraging. Only one of them remained silent.

“Cullen?” she asked her Commander, and lover, as her eyes met his.

He was no longer wearing his armor or the fur covered cape she loved, but his officer’s uniform. Like her, he was never truly comfortable in the dress uniform. The fabric itched his skin and he could never get the sash to stay straight, but the moment he saw her, he forgot all about it.

She was radiant, beautiful as she entered the room. He knew she was dreading wearing the gown, but seeing her in it was worth her displeasure. He knew she was beautiful, but it was a rare treat to see her so… so…

“Gorgeous,” he found himself whispering as their eyes met.

It didn’t matter that everyone was around them and would see, all she wanted was to throw herself in his arms and kiss him. It would mess up the work Josephine had done, but she didn’t care.

Too bad the horns blew to announce their guests before she got the chance.

“Come,” Josephine commanded. “It is time we meet our guests.”

Josephine had taken it upon herself to invite the heads of ten of the most powerful families in Orlais to join them that night at Skyhold. Even though they were there to meet and discuss matters with the Inquisitor, they were more comfortable discussing things with their Orlesian hostess.

And she couldn’t be happier about that.

The real trouble came when dinner was served for their guests. Like everything about the day, Josephine had planned everything down to the spices sprinkled on the rolls and the Inquisitor prayed she would only have to say as much as she had the rest of the day.

 

Even the seating arrangements were carefully planned. The Inquisitor sat at the middle of the table, exactly where everyone would have a good look at her. Josephine sat directly across from her, to make it easier to give her a glance or a swift kick if she said the wrong thing. 

Along with them and their guests, Vivienne, Leliana, Varric, Dorian, and of course, Commander Cullen sat around the table as well. Though she had wanted the rest of her close friends to join them, Josephine made it clear their prescience at the head table would do more harm than good. They sat with the rest of the people of Skyhold who had been invited, with Cassandra watching over them with a careful eye and a firm hand.

But at least Cullen was there. Though he sat across from her and two seats over, at least she could glance up at him when she needed something to bolster her confidence. He had played the game before, and he was her rock, her lion. He would guide her through.

Mercifully, dinner was easy enough. Josephine, Vivienne, and Leliana covered most of the conversation, with Varric being relied on for a quip or story. All she had to do was nod or laugh at the right time, and speak the correct words of appreciation when the time came.

Until things took a much more personal turn.

“So tell me, Lady Inquisitor,” one of the women who had come from Val Royeaux asked. “You must be considering marriage at this time. A union with the son of a powerful household could do wonders for your cause.”

Though all of Skyhold was well aware of her ongoing affair with their Commander, no one outside the keep knew that the Inquisitor had already found a lover.

Before she could answer, another man from Orlais spoke up. “Yes, you raise a very good point. In fact, my son is of age. He could make a marvelous match for you.”

She didn’t know what to say. Fear gripped her unlike any she’d known since that night in Haven when the snow and rocks fell on her. She looked to Cullen for an answer, but all she found in those golden eyes of his was fear that matched her own.

“We have considered that,” Josephine spoke up, and with her eyes she pleaded with her friend to somehow save her. An arranged marriage with a member or Orlesian nobility could do great things for the Inquisition, but that didn’t matter to her, not now.

“I’m glad to hear that,” one of their guests answered.

“All I said was that we had considered it,” Josephine said with one of her coy smiles. “We have considered many options for our Lady Inquisitor. We need to find a union that will best benefit not only the Inquisition, but the people of Ferelden and Orlais. What might be best is a union to a Templar.”

“Excuse me?” one of their guests said, obviously taken aback. “A Templar?”

Even the Inquisitor had to wonder just what Josephine was on about. Yes, Cullen was a Templar, at least a former one, but how would this stop their suggestions of marriage?

When she looked to Cullen, he shared the same puzzled look as she.

“We need to inspire the people,” Josephine continued. “More than anything right now, we need peace between the mages and the Templars. What better way than if our Lady Inquisitor, a mage herself, takes a Templar as her husband? It would show the people that peace is more than possible.”

The nobles around the table shared unspoken glances until finally one said, “I’m sure I can speak for all of us when I say this is a disappointment, but the Lady Montilyet raises an excellent point. We do need to think of this unsteady peace, after all, and Count Sevanyet’s second son is a Templar. It could make for a good match.”

“Actually,” Josephine cut in again. “We were considering Commander Cullen for the honor. He knows our Inquisitor, and is comfortable here in Skyhold. Not many Orlesians, Templars or not, would be able to say the same of life in the mountains.”

Relief washed over the Inquisitor – Josephine had saved her with only a few well-placed words. But then another worry gripped her. It wasn’t as if she and Cullen had discussed marriage. They barely had time to see each other, let alone discuss such things.

She almost didn’t dare to look at her lover’s face then, for fear that she might still find that panic there. When she finally forced herself to glance his way, it wasn’t fear she found on his face, but an almost hidden smile while his hand rubbed the back of his neck. That told her all she needed to know.

With the topic of her own marriage settled, at least for the time being, the nobles continued to talk about parties, politics, and other matters that she had no interest in. Instead, she shut her mind off and played the part through dinner.

When dinner was done, the tables were cleared away and room was made for the oldest sport in Orlais – dancing. With their guests happily occupied, she stood back and watched, her mind more occupied with the idea of marrying Cullen than on anything else.

The longer the night wore on, the less interest her guests had in her conversation. It was Josephine and Vivienne who held their attention, and sometimes Varric, while she stood off to the side and watched.

“Inquisitor,” a familiar, deep voice purred in her ear.

“Commander,” she returned his greeting. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Not until this moment,” he said as his hand slipped around her corseted waist. His voice was a hushed whisper, careful not to draw attention to their private moment. “And yourself? Enjoying this celebration in your name?”

“Hardly,” she scoffed. “No one has talked to me in over an hour, though I’m not sure if I mind all that much.”

“Then I’m sure they won’t notice your absence,” he told her as he guided her back, away from the party. 

She wanted to, oh how she wanted to, but if she was needed…

He seemed to read her mind then. “If they wanted to talk with you, they would have done it an hour ago. And…” he said, his voice losing some of its easy confidence, “I believe I am still in your debt.”  
“Oh,” she said, suddenly remembering the night before in the baths. “Why Commander, I do believe you are correct.”

“I… had a thought on that,” he said, stumbling over his words. “I wanted to try something Sera suggested… it’s a little…. Oh, Maker’s breath…”

“Something Sera suggested?” she laughed lightly. “I can’t deny my own curiosity at that. Please, Commander, lead the way.”

Sera was definitely one of her more interesting, and often vulgar friends. If Cullen was going to her for suggestions, she could only imagine what she might be in store for. That, and she wished she could have been there to see that conversation.

The stairs to her quarters were a long climb at best, but in the dress and shoes that Josephine had made her wear, it didn’t take long before Cullen’s patience wore thin and he lifted her into his strong arms to help hurry their ascent.

He didn’t set her down when they entered her quarters, rather, he carried her to the bed where he tossed her onto the soft mattress. She moved to start undoing the tightly laced gown, but Cullen stopped her with a kiss.

When they broke away, she noticed he was blushing she was truly starting to wonder what he had heard from Sera.

“Cullen?” she asked, uncertain.

“Just lie back,” he told her, though he was still blushing. “If you don’t like it, just tell me and I’ll stop.”

It wasn’t until Cullen began to reach his strong hands up her skirt that she began to have an idea what Sera had suggested to him.

“Oh Maker,” she moaned as his lips found their target. She’d imagined him doing this very thing half a hundred times before, but never thought he would be game for it.

At first, he was uncertain as he continued to caress her most private places with his tongue, but with her moans to guide him, it wasn’t long until he took complete control of her pleasure and guided her towards the edge of her climax.

Just as she thought she was almost there, Cullen lifted his head from under her skirt.

“I love that you’re enjoying yourself,” he told her between kisses across her inner thighs, “but if you keep being so loud, we won’t have privacy for long.”

“Maker take them,” she laughed. “Keep doing what you were doing!”

Her commander was always happy to please her and his lips found her all over again. Passionate, needy, and hungry, he was a man possessed as he showed her a pleasure she’d never known before. It wasn’t long until he had her surrendering to her release and she moaned his name with every breath.

“Oh my… wow,” was all she could manage to say when he was finished kissing her. 

“I’ll have to inform Sera that her suggestion was well received,” Cullen said as he relaxed on the bed beside his lover.

“Maker, what I wouldn’t give to have been there for that talk,” she laughed as she snuggled up in his arms.

“She started it,” he insisted. “But it sounded like a good idea, so I listened.”

“I’m certainly glad you did,” she said as she smiled up at him, but suddenly his own smile started to fade. “Cullen,” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he tried to assure her. “I just… oh, Maker… when Josephine mentioned the idea of us getting married…”

“We don’t have to,” she stopped him. “If you don’t wish to get married, I won’t force your hand.”

“No, I…” he stuttered. “It’s that… well… I do. And I had hoped you did too.”

A new warmth washed over her then. Of course she did. More than anything, she wanted that.

“Cullen Rutherford,” she said as she kissed him. “Are you proposing to me?”

“Would it be so wrong if I did?” he asked her.

“Not at all,” she said, her own smile growing. “So... ask.”

“My Lady Inquisitor,” Cullen said as he held her closer. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said as she snuggled into his arms. “Of course I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> I should be working on my actual novels, but hey, I can't stop writing Dragon Age fics. Sigh, that Cullen...
> 
> If you do like my stories, I publish original fiction under the name Helena Shaw.


End file.
